The Turkish clothing sector attracts the attention of many investors from all over the world.
In 2020, a client from the United States contacted our Turkish company. This case study summarizes our business consulting services for a client interested in investing in the Turkish clothing sector.
Contents
The Needs of the Client
The client knew very little about the Turkish clothing sector, so he would simply purchase Turkish clothing online to determine whether these items had high selling potential. He made this decision based on the prices listed on the websites of some Turkish suppliers, as he did not wish to purchase from China. This would be his first procurement of bulk goods from Turkey. His budget for the first party was approximately $12,000, and he would increase it after determining the most popular products. Then, he would request the private-label production of these most-popular products.
Greatest Challenge: Budget
Our greatest challenge was the client’s budget. The client sought a Turkish clothing manufacturer from whom he could purchase women’s, men’s, and children’s clothes. In addition, this Turkish manufacturer was required to be flexible and manufacture modest quantities with the client’s private label upon request. The client’s third request was that all products be made of 100 percent cotton. However, the budget allocated for these efforts was extremely low.
Outdated Product Prices on Websites
The second challenge was the incorrect pricing on Turkish websites. The client provided us with two websites that could somehow represent the Turkish clothing sector. I promptly called the companies after receiving the URL addresses from the client. Unfortunately, both clothing companies informed me that the prices are not up-to-date and that I should prepare a document and request the prices of each item of clothing separately!
Our Sourcing Service
This was an absolutely extensive project for us. One of us created a database of appropriate manufacturers in the Turkish clothing sector. I called the companies to correctly explain the client’s needs. After confirming that the Turkish clothing manufacturer can provide all women’s, men’s, and children’s apparel and can manufacture on demand, another member of the team created a catalog to obtain the most recent price quotes.
Database of Turkish Clothing Sector Companies
As described in the post titled “Turkish clothing manufacturers,” the Turkish clothing sector has around 40,000 ready-made clothing manufacturers. However, not all of them are capable of manufacturing clothing for women, men, and children. We reduced the number of clothing manufacturers to sixteen, and I personally contacted each of these firms. This database was also shared with the client. In addition, we added annotations to the report to inform the client about some details that he would never learn from the internet. We then determined 7 manufacturers and collected updated prices for the products. There were three product groups (women, men, and children), and we collected around 1500 individual price quotes, so we charged $225 x 3 = $675 for this task.
Power of Secondary Market Research
Following several conversations, the client inquired about Turkey’s cotton capacity. Additionally, he wondered if cotton was expensive in Turkey. We reviewed some official Turkish cotton sector reports and suggested that he add some diverse products to his portfolio, as cotton is not particularly abundant in Turkey. We were tasked with preparing a concise market research report for his company based on the Turkish ministry’s clothing and cotton reports. Since we already had an ongoing order with the client, we prepared the report for $110.
The Client’s Final Decision
We prepared such a detailed report that the client eventually changed his mind and opted to sell only women’s and men’s clothing that contained 70–100% cotton. We also taught him which fabric kinds he should sell and which he should avoid. After reviewing price quotes and styles, he determined 2 Turkish manufacturers, and he really got very high-quality women’s and men’s clothes both for winter and summer. He abandoned his plan to sell children’s clothing. In addition, we limited the product categories. He now sells them on Amazon. Besides, we managed the shipment process and received written consent from both Turkish manufacturers to use the product photos freely. He spent $12,400, excluding our consulting fees.
My Honest Considerations
You might assume that we gained a lot from this project at first. But believe me, it was a tremendously difficult project, and we labored day and night for over a month. The Turkish clothing industry is demanding in every way, and we relish the challenge. This was one of the projects on which I was impressed with how well our team performed.
You can leave any questions in the comments section below. I will gladly respond to all of them. My next post is “Turkish Porcelain File Manufacturers.” If you need to discover how the private labeling and sourcing process works in Turkey, I strongly recommend you read “Comprehensive Guide to Private Label Services in Turkey,”
